Drivers drive completely blindly at night due to the lack of horizontal markings on huge sections of roads and even highways, writes “Telegraph“ after an inspection.
Axes and side stripes are massively missing on the third-class road network and it is rather a surprise if even residual markings are found there.
The situation with first and second class roads, however, is no better. An experiment on the Sofia - Apriltsi route, Lovech region, at night showed that for the entire distance of nearly 200 km on a combination of any class of roads, there is marking for only about a third of the distance. In places, a median dividing strip is visible. Almost nowhere are there any end lines, and drivers rely only on their headlights to find out where the road ends and the shoulder begins. The most shocking fact is that there are no markings even on the second busiest highway in our country - “Hemus“. The problem has long been pointed out by experts in the road safety industry, but the situation has not changed for decades.
“The situation is the worst in Northwestern Bulgaria, where entire sections seem to have never seen a marking machine. The first-class network is in a deplorable state, and on second-class and third-class roads there is often neither marking nor even asphalt“, commented Diana Rusinova, head of the road safety organization “European Center for Transport Policies“.
According to her, there are hundreds of reports of missing markings, but nothing changes, and the state does not exercise control over the companies responsible for this activity. The districts of Pleven, Vratsa, Montana and Vidin are critical.
“The RIA's explanation is always the same - lack of funds. But how can we explain to the relatives of someone who died in an accident that the state “had no money for markings“? How can we expect understanding from people when the markings could have saved someone's life?“, said Rusinova.
According to her, right now, when Bulgaria is already in Schengen, the Northwest is a key transport corridor with very heavy traffic to and from Danube Bridge 2. “And instead of meeting these challenges, the region is left with roads that do not meet any standard – no markings, no signs, no maintenance“, the expert also said. The road agency explained to “Telegraph“ that the deplorable state of the markings on “Hemus“ is a temporary phenomenon. After the Reunification Day on September 6, it is planned to start repairing the section from the exit of Sofia to the village of Yana. The section is in poor condition, the agency admits, promising that the section will have new asphalt and markings by winter.
By the end of September, markings will also be installed on other sections of the highway, the RIA also promised.
There will also be new markings on the first-class Sofia - Varna road in Lovech and Sevliev regions.
The lack of markings there is due to ongoing repairs, during which flexible dividers are planned to be installed along the entire length of the road in order to prevent overtaking in dangerous sections and prevent head-on collisions. This should happen by the end of the month.
„The „Road Infrastructure“ Agency assigns priority to the installation of markings on sections of the republican road network on which major repairs, current or preventive maintenance have been completed. Regarding the sections where repairs have not been carried out, priority is given to marking the sections with a concentration of traffic accidents and the motorways,“ the agency also stated. Road markings are not just an aesthetic addition, but have a huge role in traffic safety. This was told to “Telegraph“ by Krasimir Georgiev from the Association for Qualification of Motorists in Bulgaria.
“It improves visibility and has a preventive value. Without it, drivers at night, even with headlights, cannot see from afar what bends, turns and features are ahead on the road, which increases the risk of losing control of the car,“ the expert added. “But it is still summer now. Imagine what happens in the fall, when the roads are wet and the fog begins. Without markings, drivers simply drive blindly," explained Georgiev, according to whom the missing markings are one of the main reasons for self-accidents by leaving the roadway.
“Of course, then the traffic police come and make the conclusion “inappropriate speed“ and no one asks the RIA when the last marking was placed there“, the expert concluded.